“Javy, it sounds like someone needs my help,” she hissed.

“Get back, Grace,” he hissed in return.

She hesitated before pressing her back against the wall again.

Stay there, he willed. He had no weapon. From the butcher block, he pulled a long boning knife. Wedging the handle in his fist, he shuffled the rest of the way to the door and peered through the peephole.

The face that greeted him on the other side wasn’t friendly. The gun in his hand with the silencer attached looked even less so.

Javier cursed, backtracking. “Is there another way out?” he whispered.

“There used to be,” she said. “The fire ladder attached to the balcony. I wouldn’t count on it supporting either of us.”

“This way,” he said, pulling her to the balcony.

“Javier, who’s at the door?” she asked. When he opened the balcony door, peering out furtively, she sucked in a breath at the cold. “Answer me!”

“We need to move quickly,” he told her. At the shake of her head, he leveled with her. “You trusted me once. I need you to do it again.”